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| Park Jeong-hoon / Photo courtesy of KPGA |
Over March 24–25 at Solago Country Club's Lago Course (par 71, 7,286 yards) in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, Park opened the tournament with an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys to post a 5-under 66 and sit tied for second, one shot off the lead after day one.
On the final day, he made one bogey but converted seven birdies, shooting 6-under for the round to finish at 11-under 131 and claim the title.
After the win, Park said, \"I'm thrilled to win the first event of the season. I want to thank Chairman Lee Jang-hwan of Chong Kun Dang, Titleist, the staff at Woongbin Management Group, LK Academy coach Lee Gil-hee, and above all my parents.\"
He added, \"I wasn't thinking about winning before today's round. My feel was good overall, the putts fell over both days, and playing relaxed helped produce this result.\"
Park served on the national reserve squad in 2023 and 2025 and represented the national team in 2024. He earned KPGA professional (associate) status in April 2025 and full KPGA Tour membership in June 2025.
Last year he played 19 events on the KPGA Challenge Tour, winning once (the 13th event) and recording seven top-10 finishes. He finished third in the Challenge Tour's combined points standings, earning a 2026 KPGA Tour card and setting up his tour debut this season.
Park said the KPGA Tour is notably tougher around and on the greens compared with the Challenge Tour. \"I focused on those areas during preseason training and worked hard on my fitness,\" he said.
He also laid out his debut-season goal: to finish inside the top 30 in the Genesis Points standings. \"If I can maintain consistent results, the Rookie of the Year honors should follow,\" he said.
Finishing behind Park, Kim Geun-tae (30) took second at 9-under 133, and Hong Sang-joon (33) finished third at 8-under 134.
The 2026 KPGA Challenge Tour Round 2 will be played at the same venue March 26–27.
[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
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